Food & drink
Türk çayı
Black tea brewed strong, served in a tulip-shaped glass all day long.
The Turkish encyclopedia
Food & drink
Breakfast, tea, coffee and pastry — the food a Turkish day is built around, with the name of each dish and enough to order it confidently.
9 pages in this category.
Food & drink
Simit
A sesame-crusted bread ring sold from street carts in every city.
Food & drink
Baklava
Paper-thin pastry layered with nuts and soaked in syrup.
Food & drink
Menemen
Eggs scrambled with tomatoes and green peppers, the classic Turkish breakfast dish.
Food & drink
Türk kahvesi
Finely ground coffee brewed in a small pot and served with its foam and grounds.
Food & drink
Lokum
Turkish delight: soft cubes of starch and sugar, dusted and scented with rose.
Food & drink
Ayran
The cold, salty yoghurt drink served with every kebab.
Food & drink
Künefe
A hot dessert of shredded pastry and melting cheese soaked in syrup.
Food & drink
Dolma
Vegetables and vine leaves stuffed with rice, herbs and spice.
Questions
Is Turkish tea the same as Turkish coffee?
They are not related at all. Çay is black tea brewed in a stacked double pot, diluted to taste and drunk all day from little tulip-shaped glasses. Kahve is very finely ground coffee simmered in a long-handled cezve and served with the grounds still in the cup.
What is the difference between baklava and künefe?
Baklava is many sheets of filo layered with ground nuts and soaked in syrup, eaten at room temperature. Künefe is shredded kadayıf pastry packed around mild cheese, baked until crisp and served hot, so the cheese pulls when you lift a piece.
Why is Turkish breakfast so large?
Because kahvaltı means before coffee, and it is a table rather than a plate: cheeses, olives, tomato and cucumber, eggs, jams, honey with clotted cream, and bread, shared slowly. On a weekend it can run for hours.